June 8, 2009
The Wrong Approach
I received an email recently from someone I presume to be a salesperson looking for work. Obviously this is a common occurrence these days, but here is the error in the delivery – the email had no writing. Yup, it was just a blank email with an MS Word attachment that appeared to be a resume.
This approach is a wasted effort in today’s world. I never opened the attachment for fear it may be some malicious, virus-infested computer-killer. Dramatic, I know, but the point is valid. It is similar to a phone call that comes in on your home phone at night and lists nothing more than “Out of Area.” I wonder who it may be, I think about answering it, but I usually let it go because I suspect it is a telemarketer. The same approach grips me with these types of unknown, unsolicited emails.
My standard operating procedure is to simply delete them an move on. I am certain if that was a legitimate email, the person did not intend for this outcome. This seems like an obvious point – take the time to write something for a cover email. This salesperson’s approach leads me to make assumptions about his technique and abilities based on the clumsiness of his first contact.
